How AI can now plan a cruise missile strike in minutes, not days

Artificial intelligence is increasingly changing the way modern wars are fought, and a new AI-powered mission planning system unveiled by European missile maker MBDA could significantly reduce the time needed to prepare cruise missile attacks.Called FastTrack, the software can generate complex cruise missile flight plans in just a few minutes—a task that has traditionally taken military planners several hours or even days, according to reports by European Defense Review (EDR), Defence Express and Interesting Engineering.

Why missile planning takes so long

Planning a cruise missile strike involves much more than entering a target's location.Military planners must consider terrain, weather, enemy air-defence systems, radar coverage, the type of target, available weapons and the desired time of impact.

Cruise missiles usually fly at very low altitudes, using hills and mountains to stay hidden from enemy radar while avoiding known air-defence positions.In operations involving multiple missiles, planners must also ensure the weapons reach their targets almost simultaneously to overwhelm enemy defences.This process often requires specialised planning centres and can take hours or even days for complex missions.

How AI speeds up the process

MBDA demonstrated FastTrack during the Eurosatory defence exhibition in Paris as part of its new Land Cruise Missile (LCM) programme.During the demonstration, operators entered the target location and mission requirements into the software. The AI then analysed terrain, weather conditions and intelligence on enemy air-defence systems before generating several possible flight paths within minutes.Instead of recommending a single route, the software ranked multiple options, allowing commanders to choose the most suitable one.One of the system's unique features is a "stealthness" indicator, which estimates how much of the missile's journey will remain hidden from enemy sensors by using terrain and low-altitude flight. According to the reports, simulated missions achieved stealth values of around 75 to 85 per cent.

AI can improve chances of success

MBDA also showed how AI could help commanders adapt to changing battlefield conditions.In one simulation, a cruise missile targeting a site nearly 1,000 kilometres away faced a strong enemy air-defence system, reducing the estimated success rate to below 50 per cent.Rather than abandoning the mission, the software added around 30 expendable Deluge drones to the attack plan. Their role was to saturate enemy air defences, forcing them to use up interceptor missiles before the cruise missiles arrived.With the drones included, the estimated mission success rate increased to more than 80 per cent, according to the demonstration.

Why it matters

The development reflects a growing focus among modern militaries on shortening the "sensor-to-shooter" timeline—the time between identifying a target and launching an attack.According to MBDA, mission planning can now be completed while a missile launcher is still moving into position. Since the company's ground-based launcher takes about 15 minutes to deploy, a strike plan could be ready by the time the launcher is prepared to fire.Rather than replacing human decision-making, FastTrack is designed to provide commanders with multiple optimised options quickly, helping them respond faster to emerging threats and rapidly changing battlefield conditions.As long-range precision weapons become increasingly important in conflicts around the world, AI-powered systems like FastTrack could transform how cruise missile missions are planned and executed.